The defence of South Korea was near collapse by August 1950, before MacArthur effected his brilliant, risky manoeuvre at Inchon. The first crisis was resolved so brilliantly, it raised confidence to unrealistic heights. The war having begun, crisis piled upon crisis. Twenty one countries responded and were included in the composite UN army put under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, the "hero" of the Pacific War. The United Nations (with the Soviets absent) declared the North Koreans aggressors and called for member nations to provide military support to repel the invasion. Also, the Americans were confident in their ability to execute a quick rebuff to the ambitions of the Communists. President Truman, for both strategic and philosophical reasons, took the "hardest" decision of his office when he decided to "go in." That was a miscalculation, too, for it was not anticipated that China would react. Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong had both supported the invasion, for the Communists believed they could swiftly reunite Korea, and that neither America or the United Nations would intervene. To better appreciate the stories from the Korean War, an overview is given to provide the context:-ĭespite Communist propaganda to the contrary, it was Kim Il Sung's North Korean Army that began the Korean War by attacking the South on 25th June 1950. Viewing the images and entries will make the war so much a reality, the "forgotten war" will become part of our consciousness. However, 50th anniversary events, the Dedication of a Memorial to the Korean War in Canberra in April 2000, and the Exhibition, The Vagrant Winds at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre from 8th April to 28th May, should serve to remedy our own national amnesia.Īt The Vagrant Winds, visitors will be able to rescue the missing Korean chapter of the Anzac Story, and also discover stories from other participating United Nations' countries. It is not surprising then that such a bloody, destructive and indecisive war has not inspired great literature, stories or images to ensure it a place in history or in the collective memory. There was only an armistice and a still-divided Korea. When the guns stopped firing, there was no victory to celebrate. The enemy figures were higher: China 402,000 troops killed and North Korea 215,000 killed. The United Nations' battle casualties 1 clearly show the burden of the war was borne by the Republic of Korea which lost 46,000 troops killed, and the USA which lost 33,629 killed, and another 8000 who remain missing. The total death toll is estimated at 5 million. Epithets given to the Korean War indicate why amnesia surrounds it: " forgotten " "unknown " and the misnomer, "police action," which is attributed to the United States President, Harry Truman.Ī reason for amnesia is that the war dragged on, only to exact considerable sacrifice. It is inconceivable that a war of such global importance should be overlooked by history. Unfortunately for Korea, a nation that had enjoyed centuries of intact culture, it became the site of a war by proxy which left the country devastated. The Korean War had begun, a war that was essentially a show-down between Communism and the West. On June 25th 1950, a sudden roar of guns shattered the pre-dawn silence at the 38th Parallel. Their only respite, he wrote, lay with the vagaries of the Korean winds. "The Vagrant Winds" was the title chosen for the Korean War exhibition for it symbolises the vagaries not only of war but of life just as the soldier experienced the vagaries of the wind indiscriminately blowing the stench of death from dead bodies over enemy and ally alike, at the site of the last battle on the 38th parallel. THE 38TH PARALLEL - (KOREA, 1950-1953) Olwyn Green
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